Weds 7th July: Talking about our upcoming Flag Day

 I haven't talked much about our upcoming Flag Day on the 24th of July so it's time I promoted it and how you can support, even if you're not going to be out and about on the actual Saturday, because you can buy the "flags" ahead of time.   There are also different levels of flags, like the Gold Flag which includes a metal pin on the sheet of stickers.  For any enquiries regarding the Flag Day, please email 

flagday@hongkongdogrescue.com

3-legged Joshua and his flag

The annual Flag Day involves a huge amount of work and preparation, starting with the actual application and then the design, for which we have to thank Melissa Tan of  Paintinks by melt, and a ton of other things which thankfully Ka Yan at the office handles so I don't have to worry (phew!)  It's also one of the few opportunities for younger volunteers to be able to participate in as we always need people out on the street for the actual big day.  If you see anyone on Hong Kong Island holding an HKDR collection bag and selling flag stickers, please do stop and buy, and maybe say thank you to the volunteer at the same time. 

There's always a mix of adoption enquiries along with surrender requests waiting for me in the morning when I open my emails, and those surrender messages are a good reminder that not every home is suitable for having a dog.  Many of them are from people who thought taking in a puppy was a lovely idea, only to find out that puppies grow into adult dogs that need taking care of, and by that I mean actually walking them every day and not just providing food and water.  Others have adopted (or bought) a puppy for their children who have also grown up and either lost interest or left home to go to college abroad.  It's always a concern when parents apply to adopt a puppy for their children because a dog's lifespan can be fifteen years more or less, so if the child is five then he or she will be twenty by the time the dog's life comes to an end.  You have to adopt a puppy or a dog as a family, not just for the children, and if you're already a young adult you also need to consider the changes in your life that lie ahead.  If you're single you may get married and have children, and too many dogs are given up when that happens.  Please think ahead and whether you can really include your dog as part of your life to come no matter what. 

Arriving on Thursday but no name yet

The beautiful dog that's coming to us on Thursday doesn't fall into any of the usual surrender categories as she's one of the hundreds that lost their home due to the big redevelopment of the North West New Territories.  These poor dogs were rounded up by AFCD and had to be considered suitable for re-homing before being released to the NGOs that could accept them, and I hate to think how many didn't make the grade. 

Thankfully there are also dogs and puppies going out to balance those coming in, and I hope to be able to share the happy adoptions over the next few days.  

 

Tues 6th July: Beautiful mongrels

 I'm not sure if it's just us and the HKDR emails but we seem to be experiencing some issues with messages again so please check your Spam if you're expecting to hear from us, and re-send your enquiry if there's nothing there.  We already know that Yahoo and Hotmail won't accept emails from the hongkongdogrescue.com account so we use alternative gmail addresses for these recipients.  

We have a small adoption event this coming Saturday which is for larger mongrels (aka mixed breeds), and that will be taking place at PRIVATE i PETS this weekend at the *𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝑨𝒅𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒚*!

Date: 10 July 2021 (Sat)

Time: 2pm - 4pm

Venue: PRIVATE i PETS - 1/F, 10 Cleveland Street, Causeway Bay (Gloucester Road Main Entrance)

* If you are planning to adopt an HKDR dog, please complete the Adoption Questionnaire on our website before coming to the event: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

We'll be sending older puppies Donut, Lemon, Ziti and Louis as our ambassadors to show what lovely natures they have, nothing like the scary monsters that some people still think is representative of the non-purebreeds.  It's quite silly when you think about it rationally, to assume that the outside of a dog has any bearing on its character, especially when the sweetest of all our dogs have been mongrels. 

Isn't she beautiful?

Based on the way a dog looks I would think the latest victim of the NorthWest New Territories Development area would be snapped up for adoption as she's beautiful, but we're told she's quite shy and scared of strangers.  If you think this young girl would benefit from being in your home, and you obviously don't have children or live in a noisy built-up area, please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/   I don't know what her name will be but the coat is suitable for allergy sufferers from the looks of it. 

Malcolm

I don't usually post news about adoptions before they happen as we know nothing is for real until the adoption agreement is signed and the dog or puppy has actually left the Homing Centre (I made that mistake just recently when I wrote that baby pup Billy Bob had a home waiting, which he now doesn't), but I'm sure that beautiful almost-German shepherd Malcolm has the most amazing home waiting for him.  He's due to be picked up on Thursday and driven off to dog paradise and his new "sisters". 

My Lamma dogs were treated to another donation of organic bones from our Ap Lei Chau neighbours GrowsFresh today, and there were a lot of wagging tails followed by peaceful crunching once the bones were handed out.  (You can check out my Instagram @ sallythedoglady for videos of some happy dogs). You may know I don't eat meat myself but there's also organic fruit and vegetables available for direct delivery so check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/growsfresh

Mon 5th July: Mondays are Busy Days

 Mondays are invariably busy as we catch up after the weekend, even though we're obviously a seven-day-a-week operation.  There's food deliveries and post-adoption follow-ups, and today multiple dogs going to different clinics for a variety of reasons, so our driver Ming was back and forth ferrying dogs in  the van.   I even had three dogs going over from Lamma, and that's always as stressful for me as it is for the dogs because I never know how they're going to handle it, especially one of them, Fiji, who always screams at the slightest thing like she's being murdered. 

(The cherry eye will be removed when Teezil is desexed). 

There's also a lot of enquiries to reply to after the photos are posted of the Whiskers N Paws puppy party (here's a reminder Puppy Adoption Day 04th July 2021 ), although many are only interested in small-sized puppies.  The only small-sized puppy boy we currently have is Teezil, but just because he's small in stature that doesn't mean he doesn't need or want lots of exercise and play.   Take a look at Teezil's photos here https://www.facebook.com/HappyWoofHK/

"Hot dog" Dozer

Another Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre resident is new boy Dozer, a five year-old French/English bulldog that Iris snapped this photo of as the dogs were settling down for the night.  She said Dozer insisted on having this bed even though it's too small and he resembles a hot dog lying it it! 

We're just finishing the poster for a small adoption event taking place this Saturday which will be for larger young mongrel (mixed breed) puppies, so look out for that on our Hong Kong Dog Rescue Facebook page, or on here tomorrow.  

For all adoption enquiries please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ and remember to check your Spam inbox if waiting for a reply.

Sun 4th July: Happy 4th of July

 

Three lucky puppies were adopted at Whiskers N Paws today, and coincidentally two were "E" puppies staying in the same foster home although they went to different families.  The other one was Marsh, a popular boy judging from the enquiries I've received about him and brother Mello (still available).

"E" puppy Emil

Jimmy Tsang was the photographer for today, and there are many lovely shots here Puppy Adoption Day 04th July 2021 of the puppies for you to look through. 

"E" puppy Ethan 

Also, and once again, you can take a look at the Ap Lei Chau puppies and adults on Eagle's Facebook page, including this video of small-sized brothers Teezil and Tucker https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES/videos/336284184748144.  As you can see, while Teezil is a happy and confident boy, Tucker is unsure and even quite scared of being out in the dog park for the first time.  Once of the most common questions we receive is about timid puppies and dogs, asking about possible past abuse, and often by men.  Being scared of men almost always isn't anything to do with any sort of bad treatment or cruel treatment, rather just the biological fact that men are usually taller, have deeper voices and (to a dog) smell of the male hormone testosterone.  Women, on the other hand, (usually) have a softer approach and voice, and it's more reassuring to a puppy.   Once in a home and with people and surroundings they feel comfortable in, timid puppies tend to settle and become more confident, but in many cases they do far better in a home with another dog. 

Donny the shiba inu puppy

Of course there are cases when the behaviour is due to past treatment, incorrect training and/or lonely and isolated puppyhood,  combined with the dog's inborn nature.  I'm talking about puppies like Donny, a shiba inu, so instinctively perhaps a stubborn type of character but also with food guarding behaviour due to food being very restricted as a puppy, not to mention having been sent away for a month of bully-type training (which clearly made things worse).   For dogs like Donny being with other dogs is very important as they have to learn how to fit into the group, socialise and share.  When I saw Eagle's photo of Donny in the dog park it was reassuring to see that he wasn't getting into any trouble, so I hope he's going to be fine. 

Sat 3rd July: Skipping a day

 I'm going to skip today entirely due to it being too sad and upsetting to want to put into words, and instead I'll look ahead at Sunday and the puppy party at Whiskers N Paws.  I know at least one of the "E" Litter has already been chosen and he'll be taken home during the afternoon, and I hope others will also be as lucky.

I would recommend everyone regularly checking the HappyWoof Facebook page for lovely news and updates on many of our dogs, both at Tai Po and Ap Lei Chau Homing Centres.  There are so many that you wouldn't normally get to know, but they should never be forgotten just because they have been with us for a long time.  Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/HappyWoofHK

Emil has already been chosen

One of the only two survivors of the recent heavy rains which washed an entire litter down a hillside, baby Beryl has now opened one eye to take a look at the world, and you can see how beautifully she's growing on Instagram @ why_i_foster, along with sister Bessie.

Our foster parents are an amazing and elite group of people who take in such babies, often newborns, and turn them into the happy and healthy puppies who move on to their forever families with a background of love and nurturing, even if it's not from their actual birth mother.  If you would like to know more about fostering please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Lorna's pups had to be taken away from her today

Two of our regular foster homes offered to take over the mothering task from Lorna, the pregnant stray we took in quite recently and who was tragically confirmed to have distemper, the cruellest of all the infectious diseases.  The five babies have been split into two and three, and sadly the chances are high that they will also be infected.  I can't say thank you enough to these special people who took on what may be a hopeless task, and we're all immensely grateful.   

I have just received the devastating news that Lorna passed away, as did our sweetest boy Cyrus a few hours earlier.  This outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus is the most virulent I can ever remember, and as with all of these infectious diseases they come from nowhere without any warning or reason, then disappear just as suddenly.  

Fri 2nd July: One of those days

 Some days just don't go well and today was one of them.   It doesn't matter how long any one of us has been doing rescue work or how many times a dog or puppy in our care has died, it's always painful when it happens again.  I sent one of my Lamma dogs to Acorn after she suddenly became very tired and lethargic with laboured breathing, and when an X-ray showed her lungs were full of tumours I had to let her go.  What's incredible is how long she hid it, as it wasn't until the other day that I'd even had any inkling that there was something wrong, yet when I thought back I recalled that she had a very slight cough when she was eating.  As silly as it sounds, there's a group of dogs that gather round me every morning to be spoon fed, standing with paws on the kitchen counter as they get their spoonful in turn, and Butter was one of them.  When I heard the little occasional cough I assumed it was the food causing it, but now it seems it was far more than that.

Such a sweet dog Cyrus 

Super-sweet Tai Po dog Cyrus is also very sick and in hospital with the thing we all dread, distemper virus.  This almost always affects puppies but unvaccinated adult dogs can also become infected, and although most grown dogs can usually fight the disease in some cases their immune system isn't strong enough for whatever reason.  Cyrus hadn't been with us long enough to have received the two necessary 5-in-1 vaccinations so he was still vulnerable.  He's getting all the supportive care possible. but with viral infections it's really a dog's own strength that will determine the outcome. 

Lorna isn't feeling well 

Even worse is that mother dog Lorna is now not well, and the fear that she has somehow also contracted the virus is turning into a nightmare.  Of course if she is sick then her newborn babies are at high risk, and we urgently need experienced fosters to take care of the five puppies while Lorna is seen by a vet and treated accordingly.  We knew of course that Lorna's previous owners hadn't been responsible enough to have her desexed before throwing her out when they moved, but it's quite possible she also hadn't received any vaccinations against infectious diseases either and may now pay the price. 

If you can foster Lorna's puppies (we will need them to go as a pair and then three) please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.  We really need experienced foster parents with realistic expectations on this occasion. 

By the end of the day and having had to deal with all of this bad news, I wasn't in the frame of mind to be tolerant with a past adopter who had chosen not to desex the dog (a corgi) because she wanted him to become a father.   I needed to remind this person that an agreement is signed by all adopters of puppies that they will desex at the appropriate time, and it's not up to them to later "change their mind".

Thurs 1st July: New month, new homes

 The surrendered dog turned up at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre as promised, and it's clear he's not a Boston terrier but more of a French bulldog mix.  He's also not three years old rather five years, but still he's a good dog and friendly.  A couple of people had commented on yesterday's post that they thought he looked like a dog being advertised on the pet social media groups as belonging to someone who was leaving Hong Kong, and maybe he is. We were just told the owner didn't want him any more. 

Now-Dozer gets the standard inspection

On to today's adoptions to start the month, shiba inu Shiro was the first to leave, while Jimmy the corgi was also picked up by his adopters.  We had lots of interest in the puppies, with Xyla and Ursula being the lucky two who went home with their new families.

Shiro has a lovely new family

Ursula going home

Jimmy found just the right home

I do need to mention one thing, which is when we say we're open from 10am to 6pm at Ap Lei Chau and Tai Po, that means we close at six o'clock.  As happened today, potential adopters were still turning up just before closing time, and that's unfair to both the staff, and the puppies who are waiting to be fed.  

Xyla is already settling in well

There's a lot to be done before everyone goes home for the night and that can't start until all visitors have left, so if you want to meet the dogs and puppies please come at five o'clock at the latest.  The same applies to the Sunday puppy events at Whiskers N Paws which run from 2pm until 4pm, so coming to choose a puppy at 3.55pm is unrealistic.  If you can't make it during the two hours the puppies are at Whiskers N Paws, then please go to the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre before or after to meet them there.